bookmark_borderWe're taking the Costa Brava plane

Stepping out the front door, greeted by pinched skin and the glisten of frost on the car, I realise that summer is truly over. Just as well, I thought, that we’re off to Spain next week. Still mid-20s there which will do very nicely thankeweverymuch. But no, it’s not a last minute description.

As well as being thoroughly hacked, nay fucked, off about the non-running-ness brought about by my knee injury (you’ll note how I’m trying to stay away from the d- word) there has also been the small issue of Louise packing her job in. That’s not the whole story though, never is, is it.

She worked for a small local company, the type of place where job titles don’t matter that much as everyone just pitches in as and where needed. Her official title was Customer Sales Support… summat, but she was also the Office Manager and had various other admin responsibilities. It’s the kind of role that suits my wife down to the ground as she’s at her best at the centre of things (her nickname there was “the Hub”, I’m not entirely sure that was all that kind) and for a long time she liked things there. Unfortunately the company took a downturn and the CEO started to display some less than wonderful ‘management techniques’. I struggle to understand the motivation behind the ethos he was aiming for, having spent all my working life in IT where working hours are flexible, tea breaks are whenever you want them, and ultimately you are treated like an adult and allowed to get on with things.

Suffice to say that she’d been looking to move for about 6 months, but a few ‘last straws’ had passed until, when she returned home crying for umpteenth time we decided she should tell him where to stick his job. Either that or I’d go up there and throttle him. Faced with a husband jailed for murder, Louise wrote her resignation later and handed it in a couple of weeks ago. We knew we’d be ok, money-wise, for a couple of months but it took us into the unknown.

I’m not very good with the unknown and I only realised at the weekend that my stress levels were through the roof, and that I needed to dial back a little less I head off down a road seldom travelled (blimey, it IS hard to obfuscate such things).

Knee-wise it’s still sore but feels a little better, and I’m going to use my time off running to build my upper body strength, tone up where I can, and improve my flexibility with some basic yoga stuff (whatever I can manage without stressing my knee of course).

Job-wise, Louise was offered, and accepted, a job yesterday! She went for the interview in the morning and they offered her the job that afternoon. She was positively beaming about the interview and the company, and is still a little stunned that they offered her the job so quickly. I keep telling her that she is more talented than she thinks (a long standing issue with my wife) but I think, now, she is starting to believe it!

Woo hooo, what a great day.

Where does this fit with flying to Spain? Well, we had already discussed that, presuming Louise got a job before November, that we would fly out and see her Dad before she started her new job, rather than try and get a week away as soon as she is in the door. As she starts on October the 7th, that left us with next week. It’s a hard life…

In other news, I neglected to wish my mate Keith a Happy Birthday yesterday but, as he was in hospital getting his appendix removed, I don’t think he’ll have noticed. Sorry mate.

bookmark_borderIt's a girl

Congrats to our HR/Office Manager Lynn who’s just given birth to 8lbs of baby goodness, Robyn.

Which reminds me of a funny story.

In my distant past I used to help out at the local Hospital Radio station (must get that site updated…) on the request show. It’s a fairly simple setup, you wander round the wards, chat to some patients and take requests for their favourite record. The maternity wards were always a favourite – younger patients, hotter nurses… er… more modern music choices – and so it was one night that we headed back to the station, requests in hand.

Now much as I’d like to give the impression that it was a highly organised setup it was usual more a case of rushing back ten minutes before the show started, looking out the first few tracks and jumping on air without much thought. Hence the reason the show, that night, started with the opening line of:

“Welcome along to the request show, we’ve got a stack of requests to get through tonight, so let’s get started. First up, a request for Nancy in Ward 5 from her husband. He’s so delighted that she’s just given birth to a baby Robin…”

Cue fits of giggles.

Still makes me chuckle.

bookmark_borderEurope

Stopped vomiting (which is nice) and managing to get some work done, only for our Office Manager to phone and say my new camera has arrived at work – typical! Wasn’t expecting it until next week (this also means that our lovely Office Manager had to pay the duty on the item, £50, so now I feel doubly bad, although as it is pay day not too bad… she’s a gem though!).

Di-di-di daaaa, Di-di-di-di daa!!! (Damn you Becca!)